Energy's In the Eye of the Beholder
by Lieutenant Nightwing
Summary: TF:A-07 16 year old Vespa Satchel thought she was getting her first car, but what she got was far more than meets the eye. Can this young mechanic guard the secrets of the AllSpark, or will she fall to the darkness within her? BBxOC ProwlxOC
1. Strange Happenings

Author's Notes

Wassup! Welcome to my first FanFic ever posted! YAY! I'm so proud of myself ^_^

A few notes b4 we get started: For this fic, I'll be using a combination of both characters from the 2007 movie and the Animated series on Cartoon Network (I'll mainly Optimus Prime, Barricade, Frenzy, and Megatron from the 07 movie, cuz they're kicka** awesome! D), and my OCs, Vespa Satchel, Kaia Rosecroft, Rufus Cumberland, and Skylar Maywind. BumbleBee will be using radio broadcasts as a form of communication as well, but he'll keep his voice later on in the story (You'll learn all about that later on).

Just so that everything is evened out in the dialogue and no one is confused:

"Speaking"

_Thoughts_

_"CommLink"_

This fic is rated T to T+ due to violence, gore, and crude language (both Cybertronian and Earth-related)

Also, if the characters seem a little OOC, please tell me so that I can correct that unless it is stated at the beginning of the chapter.

Overall, enjoy the fruits of my labor (for they should be sweet XD), and offer any constructive cristism when needed. Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated. Flames are prohibited under penalty of law [violaters of this rule will be towed (a.k.a "deleted") ] :P

**Disclaimer**: Just a little reminder: Transformers does **_NOT_** belong to me (only Vespa, Kaia, Rufus, and Skylar are in my possession). All brand names used are not of my possession, either.

* * *

**Energy's In the Eye of the Beholder**

_Chapter 1: Strange Happenings_

_Is it just me, or does it seem that whenever something happens that could change your life forever, it ends up actually doing that? Am I really an honorable mention alongside a bunch of alien robots, or am I just cracking up? Is it a dream or is it reality? Well, whatever it is that you are about to behold here, I'll let you decide..._

I guess it all began when I got my first car. You see, I live in the heart of the city of Detroit, in a small little business flat that is home to Satchel's Auto Repair Shop. What makes the place a little unique is that behind it on the right is an old abandoned automobile plant, where my dad was once worked there as an engineer and a manager in his teenage years. To the left is Rusty Jake's Junkyard, where I spend a lot of my time wandering around getting inspiration for pieces of art I like to make or just to try and find a new tool. I'm a natural born mechanic, so much so that my best friend's dad likes to joke around and say that I was born with a wrench in my hands, but I'm also a talented painter and sculpter. In my spare time, when I'm not working on cars, I like to take my welding torch and make metal sculptures or I'll just stare at the sunset and take out my paints and put down what I see. Right now, I was too busy with a new sculpture to even notcie that my best friend had pulled up into the drive.

"Vespa! Hurry up! We need to get over to dealership before it closes!"

Oh, my bad. I didn't even get to introdce myself. My name is Vespa Satchel. I'm 16 years old and I live in Detroit. Yeah, I know I'm named after those little preppy motor scooters you see buzzing around Europe, but my mom liked the name. It actually means "wasp" in Italian, which, believe it or not, I have some heritage in. My hair is straight chestnut brown with a faint wave at the ends and my eyes are an almost brownish green hazel with a hint of red streaks and ultramarine blue circles around the cornea. I am kind of small in height for my age, but very muscular and lean. My legs show signs of a well trained runner and rollerblader, and my arms are built for lifting heavy objects.

I put down my welding torch and lifted the mask I wore. "Kai, cool your jets, girl! I'm almost done," I yelled back. I then took a deep breath, set the mask back down, and gave it a final heat blast. I stood back to admire my work.

"VESPA!!!"

"Alright, Kaia! Don't blow a fuse!"

I threw down my welder's mask and walked over to the car. I really didn't care if I was still wearing the leather jacket over my white turtleneck and my boot cut blue jeans that hung over a pair of black leather combat biker boots; at least I'd have a little something to keep me warm. Padding up beside me was my Siberian Husky, Wheeljack, sometimes called Wheelie or Jack for short. I looked at him, and said, "You gotta stay here, boy. I need you to watch the shop for me while I'm gone."

He whimpered and pawed at my knee. I sighed and bent down to give him a little rub on the chest. He panted happily and walked back to his post after I tussled at his pointy ears. Kaia smiled as I jumped into the gunmetal gray Porsche Carerra S convertable and said, "He sure does love you. You know he hates it when you leave."

"Yeah, it's like having a big 160 pound dad wearing a fur coat all of the time," I said with a laugh.

* * *

"Oh...my...GOD! Kai, are you serious?!"

My eyes were the size of tractor tires when I saw her pull up into the drive of the local Porsche dealership. I immediately hopped out and pointed at the place, gasping in amazment.

"Are you sure about this?! What's your dad gonna say?! Oh my god! You've got to be kidding me!"

"You're right," said Kai, "I am kidding."

I turned to her gave her a mischeivious grin. "You always were a tricky one," I said playfully.

"Hey, come on! My dad needed for me to pick him up while his car was getting serviced."

Kaia Rosecroft was probably my best friend in the universe and my lifeline when it came to my essential needs. She was tall and had wavy blackish-brunette hair, with midnight blue eyes. Her skin was pale with a hint of cream, and spoke with a heavy Greek accent. In fact, her mother was originally from Greece, but she left to take care of Kai's maternal grandparents back in Delphi. Kaia said that one day, she would take me to Greece and we could meet her mom. Until then, Kaia, or "Kai" as I liked to call her, lived with her father, Dr. Rosecroft, a scientist/inventor.

"Why didn't he take it over to my place?," I asked leaning against the door of the car, "I could've fixed it up in no time, plus it would've given me something to do."

"He was a little scatterbrained this morning," she replied.

"What did he do this time?," I asked, "Try and put jelly on the toaster again?"

We both laughed and sighed. Kaia knew I was only playing. Ever since my older brother, Erik, left for the army, Dr. Rosecroft had become my second father, and had always been so kind to me. I walked over and sat on the trunk.

"Sorry I'm a little late, Kaia," said Dr. Rosecroft as he exited the building.

"Don't worry about it, dad," she said calmly, "Vespa, hop in the back, 'kay?"

I shook my head and scoffed lightly. "Kai, stop treating me like you're my mom."

Dr. Rosecroft smiled as he got in. I liked him. He was a tall man in his late forties to early fifties, with salt and pepper hair, dark azure blue eyes, and a good-hearted demeanor. He was well known for wearing a lab coat and dark navy slacks with a crisp white shirt underneath.

"If you could just take me home and let me borrow your car, I'd really appreciate it, Kaia dear," he said to her as she picked up speed on the main road.

"I don't know about that, Kai," I said.

"It's cool, dad," she answered, "I'll take Vespa on my motorcycle to the place and you can meet us there. I'm sure you'd want to freshen up a bit."

I rode all the way home with uncertainty. Don't get me wrong, Kai is an awesome driver and would never try and do something stupid on the road, but I just don't trust people on a motorcycle with me as the passenger, plus I have been known to suffer from motion sickness, especially spinning and sharp sideways movements. _Let's hope she remembered to pack some Dramamine in the first aid kit, _I thought.

* * *

"Here we are. Home sweet home."

Pulling up to their mansion that was reminicent of Frank Lloyd Wright's _Falling Water_, I jumped out of the car and gazed at the place in happiness. I liked coming here every now and then. Following Kai and her dad, I gently jogged my way up to the front door.

"By the way, Vespa," said Dr. Rosecroft, "do you think that you will have any time off in the near future?"

"I've alway's got free time, doc," I answered as I entered the large and spacious 1950s mid-century modern foyer, "whacha need for me to do for you?"

"Well, you see, a colleague of mine, Professor Chancelor, had lent me his Ferrari California to be repaired, and even though I do like to tweak the engine of one of my Porsches or Lamborghines, I'm sadly going to be a little bit busy this week with new presentations and trying to upgrade or fix any of my products. I was wondering if-"

"Say no more, sir," I said, "I'd be more than happy to help out. Maybe sometime on Wednesday afternoon?"

"Thank you so much!," he cried with joy, "I'm so glad you can help."

"Anything for you, Dr. Rosecroft," I murmured.

"C'mon," said Kaia, "I'll show you the bike."

Following her, I made my way to a spiral staircase with a touchpad on the wall beside it. Kaia placed her hand upon it and the staircase came to life, rovolving down to the main workshop area.

_"__Good afternoon, Miss. Kaia__," _said a computerized voice_, "__going down to the shop, I suppose?"_

"You read me like an open book, C.H.A.S," she answered.

C.H.A.S, or Computerized Home Assisstance System, was the Rosecroft's personal electronic butler, kind of like J.A.R.V.I.S was to Tony Stark in Iron Man. He helped the family in everything, from alphabetizing their personal library to locating a missing criminal to even developing blueprints and software.

The moment Kaia and I hit the floor of the little shop area, I knew I was in heaven. Sure, I had been down there several times in my life, but for some odd reason, this time was a little bit different. It was a feeling of nostalgia and memories, like a old navy vet yearning for the days of when the sea was his home. Most of the collection was a few hot rod kits Kaia and her dad worked on during earlier years, others were cars he had purchased from colleagues and friends oversea, like the Fiat and the Lamborghine that his best friend had given him from the main headquarters where they manufactured it. Beside it sat the Ferrari Dr. Rosecroft had talked about, in all its maraschino cherry red glory. I smiled proudly; Ferrari was my favorite brand of sports car.

"Well, Vespa," said Kaia as she walked up to her motorcycle, which leaned against the exit platform tunnel entrance and exit, "ready to head out?"

I was still feeling a small tug of uncertainty at my heartstrings when she asked. Gazing at it was making it even worse. According to her, it was a Suzuki, but she didn't know what model it was. The black and gold paint job along with its uneeded modifications of police signal lights glinted brightly in the sunlight that shone through the surround windows.

"Kai, seriously buddy," I stated, "you know as well as I do that I can't ride shotgun on those things. It's too dangerous, and I may end up puking on you like last time."

"Come on, Vespa," she said, "I'll make sure C.H.A.S gets you some Dramamine and I'll try and go easy on the turns. Besides, this is no ordinary motorcycle, it's the fun cycle, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was when I drove that thing with you as a passenger. This is different."

_"What's wrong?," _asked an unfamiliar voice faintly.

"Shhh. _Deu eivat tipiota _(It's nothing), Prowl," she whispered.

"Hunh?"

"What?"

"Did-Did you just call your motorcycle _'Prowl'_," I asked dumbfounded.

"It's the model name," she said, "haven't you ever heard of the Suzuki Prowl before?"

I shook my head. Then, I added, "Still, I don't care which model it is, I'm still not riding behind you on that thing."

Kai slumped her shoulders and asked, "Should I make another modification and add the sidecar to it?"

"If you can do that real quick," I answered.

Actually, Kai had been doing this for a while now. Talking to her motorcycle, saying that the name Prowl was its model name, which, by the way, I looked up the model she had suggested (after all, a good mechanic _always_ does some form of research before working on the car he/she has been assigned to), and found nothing on a Suzuki Prowl, so my guess is that it was a custom built bike for her and she called it that. I sat on a nearby shop stool and watched her attach the sidecar to the bike.

_Kai wouldn't hide something from me, would she?,_ I thought_, I mean, I'm like her best buddy, and she knows that I wouldn't blab about any secrets that she has. Why has she all of the sudden lost trust in me? It makes me feel bad. What did I do to make her lose her trust in me?_

"Yo, Vespa! It's ready!"

Awakening from my thoughts was actually pretty easy to do, especially when your best friend throws a helmet at you. I looked at it feeling a little childish. Wouldn't you if you were given a helmet colored canary yellow with three black stripes going across the back?

"Kai, are giving me a signal or something?," I said jokingly.

"What? It was the only one I could find at the store that would fit you," she answered.

"Well, I understand that, but come on! You didn't hafta find something that made me look like this, did you?"

"I thought you'd look cute in it. Now put it on, lets see how it fits."

With a smile, I shook my head and placed the helmet on. It was a little snug, but just as comfy as the one I wore when I rode my Kawasaki Ninja. Kai smiled and said, "Well, don't you look precious."

I laughed and said, "Come on, Kai. We've got bigger jets to fly."

She laughed too and revved the engine up just a tad as I got in the sidecar. Then, in a burst of speed, we were heading out the tunnel and into the light of Detroit's hot sun.

* * *

There was a lot on my mind as we sped past cars, highway signs, fast food joints, and other buildings. I couldn't help but feel a little cramped in the sidecar, but my mind was too full of thoughts to really give me any sign of caring.

"Are we there yet?," I called out above the roar of traffic and the purring of the Suzuki's engine as we drove farther on.

"Just about," Kai answered as she made a left turn.

Gripping the sides of the sidecar, I braced myself for what was up ahead.

"This is it!," Kaia exclaimed as we pulled up into the parking lot.

I looked up and grimaced slightly. It looked more like we had pulled up to a scam artist's hideout. There was nothing but really old, junky, or beat cars as far as the eye could see. the place was littered with balloons, tinsel, those stupid pennants that see hanging off the ceiling of those restaurants, and trash. As I stepped out, I began to regret ever coming here.

"Oh, crap! These are my favorite boots, man!," I cursed faintly as I accidently stepped in some really old and nasty chewing gum. _People really have no regards for where they put their damn trash,_ I thought as I tried to scrape it off with a nail file I found in the bottom of the sidecar. I looked up at the sign, which read "Magic Mikey's Used Cars". _Oh great,_ I thought_, a moment Sam Witwicky would be proud to know I was living._

"Welcome to Magic Mikey's Used Car Emporium!," boomed a loud voice.

I looked up to see a man in his mid-30s come out of the building in a getup that made him look like that dude for Panama Jack brand sunglasses. _Okay,_ I thought with a sigh_, Kai, this is your worst attempt at a joke _ever. I heard Dr. Rosecroft pull into the parking lot and walk up to us. He smiled and said, "What did I miss?"

"So," said Mikey to him,"whose the lucky little lady getting her first car?"

"Right here," answered Dr. Rosecroft as he pointed to me.

"Oh boy," I murmured as I was pulled aside.

"Well now," replied Mikey as he pulled me closer, "let me tell you something: at Magic Mikey's, you don't just drive off with a car, you drive off with a bonding between you and the car.

That's why I'm not gonna pressure you in any decisions."

"Great," I squeaked.

"Alright! Now go get 'em, kid."

I ran as though Hell were at my heels just to get away. "Wow," said Kaia, "you sure are excited to get your first car."

"Not as excited as I am to get away from that creep," I answered disgusted.

I began to look around. None of the cars impressed me. All of them were beat up, worn out, not to mention a bunch of rusting scrap heaps on wheels. The only car in good condition over there was a bright yellow Chevrolet Beat with a black stripe going down the side.

_"See any sign of her?,"_ asked a certain motorcycle via comm link.

_"Got her in my sights," _answered a younger sounding voice_, "Time to bust a move."_

_"BumbleBee, wait--"_

Suddenly the radio came to life in the little Chevy Beat: _[Come my lady/Come come my lady/You're my butterfly/sugar baby]_.

"Hey, is that car playing music?," asked Kai.

"I better go check it out," I answered.

_"That's it, keep coming,"_ murmured the one called BumbleBee.

_[Walk this way/walk this way...]_

"It's probably someone else's radio turned up to loud," I answered.

"Well, they sure don't like whatever they're listening to," mused Kai, "listen to all of that station switching."

Ignoring Kai, I looked over at it, surprised to see a used car in such excellent condition. The paint looked fresh and the tires had a nice smooth sheen like velvet. Opening the door, I took a good long whiff of the air inside. It stilled had that new car smell, surprisingly enough, and had no signs of staining or fraying on the interior. The molded putty gray plastic that served for the dashboard and door interior didn't have any scratches, plus there were no cracks or greasy fingerprints left on the dial casing. Getting out and leaving the door open, I stroked down the hoodline of the front and found no scratches, dents, or rust stains availiable.

Giving the left front fender a light pat, I walked over and raised the hood. My eyes widened. This was no ordinary engine, either! Unlike most Chevrolet engines, this one was slightly bigger and looked more like it ran on a six cylinder cycle insteade of the usual four. It was definately a turbocharged 1.6L Prince 14, but with a little more punch.

"Damn!," I murmured in amazement.

_"Oh yeah! I think she likes me!"_

Slamming the hood down, I joined up with Kai and looked at it again. "So, you like it or something, Vespa?," she asked.

"First things first," I replied, "how do I look in it?"

I sat down in the driver's seat and waited on her opinion. "I think you look great in it personally, Vespa," she said.

Suddenly, the radio started blaring out even more crap than before.

_[Ride with me/ride with me/ride with me/whoa-oh!/...throw your arms around me/never find a love like this/...and on top of this list of things before I leave this place/you are my number one!/...and maybe you and me/we could be a team/maybe you and me/just wait and see!]_

I threw my hands in the air and said, "I don't think so!"

"What's wrong, Vespa?"

"Look, the car's really cute and all, but this whole...radio playback thing...just ain't my style. I really don't give a crap anymore on what kind of car I get, as long as it's not _that one_."

_"Wha-! Wait! Where're you going?!"_

"C'mon Kai," I said, "this car's givin' me the creeps more than the dealer."

_"Please don't go! Wait! Wait! DON'T LEEEAAAVE MEEEEE!!!"_

As I walked away, I heard for one last time the radio go off in the Cooper.

_[Baby come back....]_

I stood there dumbfounded, and slumped my shoulders. _Are you f***ing kidding me?!,_ I thought as I turned to face the car. Kaia began to chuckle.

"I don't know, Vespa," she replied, "I think that Beat wants _you_ even if you don't want it. C'mon, Vespa, I never known you to meet an automobile you never like, except ones that look like pieces of s**t. Give the car a chance. You never know."

I gave her a grimace and slumped my shoulders farther down. Then, with a groan, I turned my heel and walked back over there. "This is ludicrous," I muttered as the car played an Akon song.

_[...I wanna make up right now (na na)/Wish we never broke up right now (na na)/We need to link up right now (na na)...]_

_"Uh...BumbleBee?,"_ asked the motorcycle_, "You can stop now. She's returning."_

_"She's coming back? Wow, I must have a way with words."_

I got back over to the car and opened the door again. Then, I decided to sit for a while in the driver's seat; it was kinda warm outside and I was tired. The moment I sat down, a strange sensation came over me. I felt so...comfortable, like I was back in my house resting in a bean-bag chair sipping some Chai tea and listening to Kings of Convenience's "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)". It felt good.

"Whoa, forget what I said, Kai," I murmured, "This isn't ludicrous, this is..._luscious._"

"Really?," she asked, "cuz at first, you didn't want the car, but now...oh, make up your mind already, Vespa!"

"Oh, I've made up my mind, Kai. I have made up my mind, alright."

Just then, Dr. Rosecroft and the weirdo salesman saw us and rushed right over. "So, found a car yet, Vespa?," asked Dr. Rosecroft. Then, he looked at me and the Chevrolet Beat. "Oh...nice choice," he replied.

"Well, are you sure you want this one?," asked Mikey, "We've got this lovely Diablo black '76 Chevy Camaro to your left. It's got custom neoprene upholstry."

"Ooh, custom neoprene. That sounds nice," I murmured.

_"I don't think so!"_

Suddenly, the Chevy's passenger door shot right open and knocked a huge dent in the door of the Camaro. "Good Lord!," I cried out.

"VESPA!," yelled Kaia.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!," I shouted.

"Now, calm down," replied Dr. Rosecroft, "we know you didn't, Vespa."

"Oh dear!," whimpered Mikey, "get out of the car!"

"No!," I shouted.

_"BumbleBee, knock it off!,"_ shouted the motorcycle_,"You're going to get in--"_

_"Alright! Time to do a little something I like to call 'Breaking the Sound Barrier'!"_

Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, an ear-splitting noise filled the entire inside of the car, and something that was almost too bad to be true became true. The sound of shattering glass accompanied the high frequency wave sounds, and panic filled my mind as I ducked down with my hands over my head. My heartbeat was at twice its normal speed and sweat dripped from my forehead and neck. Slowly, I raised my head up and looked around. There was not a single window left spared. Only the Beat remained intact. I let out a whimper, like a hurt and lost puppy. I was scared. I didn't know what to do. Kaia and her father, must've been experiencing the same feeling of terror I was, because their mouths were agape and their expressions were that of fear. Mikey looked like he was ready to bolt out of the place. All three of us turned our heads to him.

"We'll take it," all three of squeaked.

* * *

Well, whacha think? Get ready for Chapter 2 COMING SOON!!!

Reviews are a good sign for me to continue this path. If you review, I'll give you a virtual chocolate-chip cookie! XD (sorry, no substitutions on the flavors)


	2. My First Car is a WHAT?

I'm baaack!!! ^-^ And better than ever! No we get to see who that mysterious Chevrolet Beat Vespa has taken was (but you knew _that_ already! XD)

A little warning: There is a bit of blood and gore in this chapter, so if any of you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip a few lines. Also, for all you BumbleBee fans, there is a moment when he is seriously injured. I'm extremly sorry, but don't worry, he'll come out in the end and survive :) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

**Disclaimer**

: Just a little reminder: Transformers does NOT belong to me (only Vespa, Kaia, Rufus, and Skylar are in my possession). All brand names used are not of my possession, either.

* * *

_Chapter 2: My First Car is a WHAT?!?_

The moment I drove off the lot, I felt relieved. Not just to get away from that nutjob of a dealer, but to be able to go home, take an Advil, and at least get a little bit of rest. I had _definately _had a long day. Even if some freak accident had occured with the signals, I turned on the radio just for the hell of it. I needed some music to soothe me. The song "Good Times" by INXS blared through the car. I smiled, turned it up, and hit the gas pedal down a little farther. The Chevy kicked up speed and purred along the road.

_Okay, so it's not a bad little car,_ I thought_, All it really needs is a nice touch-up on high gloss wax, maybe some tire shine to give it a velvety texture, plus a little air freshner in the rear view mirror, and it'll be perfect!_

Suddenly, as if the car had a mind of its own, I felt the steering wheel jerk my hands into a left turn. "WHAT THE F**K?!," I shouted as I was slammed into the window by the force. Looking up, I could see that the Beat was leading me to an alleyway. _This is a direction to the really old industrial side of town, _I thought_, why is it taking me there?_

Grabbing my cell phone, I called Kaia. The moment she picked up, I shouted, "Kai, you're not gonna believe this!"

"What happened? Has your car broken down or something?"

"*_huh_* Funny you should mention the car," I answered rolling my eyes, "you see, oh, how can I put this with you thinking I'm crazy...let's just say...I JUST PURCHASED A DEMONIC CHEVROLET BEAT!"

She sighed and said, "Vespa, either you've been eating too many Skittles or those oil fumes are going to your head."

"I'm serious Kai! My car is Sa--!"

The connection around here was pretty crappy, so my phone immediately died on me. Cursing under my breath only turned into screams of terror as the car sped up even faster. I thought I was going to be glued to the gray microfiber upholstry from all of the G-Force being given off. My skin felt like it was slowly being peeled off of my face and my teeth clacked against each other like castanets.

_This has to be some form of payback someone had been plotting against me, _I thought_, It just has to be. Maybe it was that time I did the whipped cream in the face prank on Dr. Rosecroft? Or maybe that time I shoved a cockroach up Benny's nose in fifth grade? Or maybe it was when I played with Erik's mecha action fgures...__**and didn't even ask**__?!?!_

"WAHTEVER IT WAS, I'M SORRY ALREADY!!!,"I screamed as the car got ready to ram me into a wall.

Then, without warning, I felt myself being lifted into the air. It was a weird feeling, like being beamed up by some alien life form. I closed my eyes as I rose higher and higher. Then, the rising stopped. I slowly opened my eyes and looked down. The ground was about a hundred feet below me. All that was supporting me was some odd platform that seemed to hang in midair. Therefore, it was definately best that I kept my eyes closed and remained huddled in the fetal position 'til further notice. After all, I was scared and weak from all the damn pressure that had already been exhirted on me. Who wouldn't want to?

"Hey, it's alright. I'm not here to hurt you."

A young male voice filled my ears and forced me to awaken from my slumber of fright. Slowly, I turned to see who said those words. No doubt about it, it was a giant alien robot. His bright sky blue eyes peered thoughtfully at my trembling figure. His face was garbed by a kind smile, and his voice was gentle. He was the same canary yellow color as my car with the same stripe that went down the right side, not to mention he had the same markings as my helmet that I wore coming over to the dealership. Wait a minute, it _was _my car, and the platform that I was sitting on wasn't a platform, it was _a hand_. _Wait a minute...._

"Did-did you just talk?," I asked stupidly.

"Sure! Is that a bad thing?"

I shook my head in reply. _Wow, he sure can talk smart,_ I thought,_ kinda like me._ I gave him a small smile. Even though I never knew him that long, I was starting to like him.

"So, you're my car, right?," I asked.

He nodded. I raised my eyebrows. "Riight," I murmured.

"It looks like you've made a new friend, BumbleBee."

I gasped and looked over his right shoulder. Standing above him was another robot, this time, older, larger in size, and painted more to look like an ambulance with 5 o' clock shadow on the faceplate, gruff expression, and a broken samurai helmet. I gulped slightly. He reminded me of my great grandpa George. _Definately a war veteran,_ I thought.

"It's just a human," replied the young bot.

"What's this I hear about a human?"

Another robot came lumbering over to the young one's left side. He was massive in size compared to his commrades and painted like an army tank. Looking at the expression of tough guy anger on his face made my eyes widen. I knew I was in trouble. Tremors rans marathons down my spine. _One false move, and they're sure to send me to that guy,_ I thought with a slight whimper_, he'd squish me like a bug!_

"Aww, it's so cute!," he said as his mouth broke into the curve of a smile, "you think Prime'll let us keep it?"

Take back what I said about squishing me like a bug, he's just a big ol' teddy bear, if teddy bears were made of stainless steel and had to have their spark plugs replaced every certain number of miles.

"Who said anything about keeping it?," asked his little friend.

"Yeah," I said gaining a little bit of courage, "I-I'm nobody's pet! And-And I'm not an 'it', I'm a 'she', as in a female!"

They both looked at me. I cringed as their bright blue eyes scanned me with the intention of zapping me with lasers. But they just looked at me, and gave me no signs of meaning any harm upon me. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. _Good,_ I thought_, as long as they don't want to make bone meal out of me, my ass is safe._

"Speaking of boss bot, where is he?," asked BumbleBee.

Suddenly, a sharp squeal of rubber against asphalt pierced the surroundings like a dagger. I watched in amazement as a Peterbilt Model 379 18-wheeler with a royal blue paint job and atomic orange flame decals pulled in and transformed before my eyes in front of the whole group. The sounds of gears turning, cogs spinning, and cranks whirring replaced the sounds of screeching brakes. "Whoa," I whispered under my breath.

Looking down at me, he said, "You must be Vespa Erin Satchel."

I nodded in response. He gave me what looked like a smile and continued: "My name is Optimus Prime. We have been in search of you for megacycles it seems. You may not know us, but we are autonomous robotic lifeforms from the planet Cybertron."

"But most people call us Autobots," said BumbleBee.

"Well, it's easier to remember," I replied with a smile, hoping they'd get the joke. BumblebBee laughed a little, but was cut short by a death ray stare from Rachet.

"You gotta admit," said Bulkhead, "for a fairly primitive race, they sure know how to keep a place decorated."

He spotted an old trash pile and jumped right into it as if it were a chair. I smiled at him. He looked so cozy.

"So give me a head's up on who I'm dealing with here," I said to Optimus, "you guys are what we would call the 'new kids on the block'. I don't know you, but you know me."

"That would be Bulkhead, our wrecking specialist," he said pointing to the tank bot.

"Don't mind me," said Bulkhead,"I'm just keepin' it real."

"Yeah, I'm sure you are," I muttered playfully under my breath.

"And this is our medic, Rachet."

"The young human's way of words is just as bad as BumbleBee's," answered Rachet.

"And hello to you too, Mr. I-just-woke-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-creeper," I answered.

"Easy, you two," said Optimus calmly.

"I'm just playing," I said.

"Then there is BumbleBee, your guardian," he said holding his hand out to the two of us.

"Really? I have a guardian?," I asked as I stepped over and stood in the palm of the leader's hand. I then turned to BumbleBee and watched as the yellow bot danced while playing a line from a Def Leppard song through his radio.

_[Everybody wants a piece of the action/Everybody needs a main attraction/I got what everybody needs/satisfaction guaranteed/Everybody wants a piece of the action]_

I laughed at this. Optimus smiled and shook his head at the youngling's confidence. "Does he always speak like this?," I asked turning towards Optimus after I had gotten back on the perch of BumbleBee's hand.

"No," replied Rachet, "he just wanted me to install a device that allowed him to study the Earth's radio frenquencies and use it as a communication device." Then, under his breath, he added, "Little did I know that it would also be used as a nuisance."

BumbleBee then cocked his head to the side with sad eyes and played another song, this time a sappy love ballad by Prince.

_[...Why do we scream at each other?/This is what it sounds like/When doves cry....]_

I laughed again. Looking down at me, he smiled, clicked his radio receptors off, and said, "Least I can make her laugh, doc-bot!"

I smiled and jumped back as Optimus said, "Now, Vespa. Enough of this. We are in dire need of your service."

Optimus was right. Enough talk. It was time for action. I lowered my head in thought. _There in dire need of my services?, _I thought_, what's __**that**__ supposed to mean?_

"What is it that you want from me?"

WHOOSH! CRASH!

He was cut short by the sound of a telephone pole being ripped off the ground and toppling to its doom.

"It wasn't me, Prime. Honest," said the large tank-bot.

"I know, Bulkhead," murmured Optimus,"it's something far worse."

Another crash, this time, accompanied by a car alarm.

"Barricade," murmured the medic omniously.

WHAM!

I looked up in terror to see another robot join in. He had the markings of a police car and red eyes. Yelping, I tried to hide away in the clutches of the yellow bot's hand. _That must be Barricade,_ I thought.

"WHERE IS SHE, AUTOBOT SCUM?!," he roared.

"Where's who?," Optimus asked cooly.

Barricade grabbed him by the collar and bellowed, "WHERE IS THE HUMAN CHILD, CODE-NAMED VESPA SATCHEL?!"

"They're after me, too?!," I yelled at BumbleBee.

"Of course," Rachet replied, "That's what Prime was trying to tell you! Ever since your protoformation, the Decepticons have been in hot pursuit for you, which is where we come in. We're at least trying to protect you!"

"So, that's all you're here for?," I asked coyly.

"Well, duh!," replied BumbleBee, "What did you think we were gonna do, rob you of your motor oil supply?!"

"Well, I admit, I do have a well-kept inventory of the stuff," I mumbled sheepishly as I tapped the tips of my index fingers together.

Suddenly, Barricade flung Optimus into a building. I gave a cry of terror, and watched as Barricade came for us. BumbleBee immediately sprinted across the area. "Hold on!," he shouted, "and don't let go!"

"Damn! You are fast!," I cried under my breath.

Hiding behind an old warehouse building, he then placed me back on the ground. "You should be safe here," he said.

"Oh yeah," I said sarcastically, "I doubt he'll find me all the way down here when I'm right _in front of him!_"

"I CAN SMELL THE FEAR IN YOU, HUMAN!," shouted Barricade.

"Oh s**t," I whimpered.

"Run, Vespa!," shouted Optimus as he got to his feet.

"Your leader is right," I said to BumbleBee in a squeaky tone, "I gotta make tracks and _fast_! If don't get the f**k out of here, I am so screwed!"

"Wait, before you go, I wanna show you something," said BumbleBee.

He then stood back up and faced Barricade. Opening the hubcaps on his shoulders, he showed me something even cooler than before. He had surround sound speakers uploaded into his wheels! How awesome was that?! Then, to make things even better, he began to play Saliva's "Ladies and Gentlemen". I love that song!

"Whadya think?!," he shouted to me.

"Whoa!," I murmured.

"Show-off!," shouted Rachet.

_What's that clicking noise?,_ I thought.

I turned to try and find the sound. Behind me, a small, almost my size, but extremely insane-looking robot came rushing for me, his four beady eyes concentrated on my death. He looked like one of my pieces of sculpture, only made out of razor blades and CDs instead of the usual rusted metal junk that I found in the scrap yards.

"WHOA!," I shouted as he rushed for me.

Even though I was one of, if not _the_ fastest kid in Detroit, I still felt as though I had never run any faster in my entire life. The littlest robot began to shoot _shuriken_ discs at me and fired off bullets. One of the discs caught my pants leg and tripped me. I fell flat on my face into the ground as the denim ripped away at the ankle of my Old Navy curvy boot cut jeans.

"Oh, so _that's _how you like to play, hunh?," I muttered, "Okay then!"

I grabbed a steel pipe and ran for him. "Come and get me, you little mutant pihrana!," I shouted swinging the pipe like a baseball bat for his torso. He fell to the ground squealing in pain. I threw the pipe down and said as he turned his electric blue eyes to me, "You know, most of the time, I'm a gentle soul who would usually feel a tender tug at my heartstrings when it comes to things like this, but in your case, hot-rod, I'll make an exception."

CRASH! WHAM! WHOOSH! BOOM!

I turned over my shoulder to see Barricade grasping poor BumbleBee in a headlock before getting his chest kicked by the little yellow bot. _That's my Beat!,_ I thought dotingly.

"You're not worth my time, Autobrat!," roared Barricade.

"Huh! Funny, I was gonna say the same thing about _you_!," yelled BumbleBee.

He lunged for him again, this time pushing him to the ground in a fist fight. The two tumbled about throwing punch after punch.

"Don't let him beat you down!," I yelled before being tackled by that mental metalhead and shoved into the ground. We both rolled around in a whirring, screaming heap. I then used the same maneuver BumbleBee used on Barricade and threw him down to the ground about five feet away from me. I stood up, even if I was a little weak in the knees. My arms and face were bruised badly. Small drops of blood oozed from the miniscule cuts on my hands.

"Okay, buddy!," I shouted angrily, "you've really done it now! You have soiled my reputation, nearly got me killed, and ruined my favorite pair of blue jeans!"

Cracking my knuckles, I finally ended my rant with: "Somebody's gonna get hurt, and I believe that somebody is _YOU_!"

I watched as he stood up and made his way towards me. Using my knowledge of acrobatics and jiujitsu, I leaped into the air and gave him a reverse crescent kick to what looked like his jaw. Upon landing, I gave him an idea of what I was capable of by giving off three aerial round-offs and landing in a T'ai Chi-like pose. He came at me again, giving me a similar move. I dodged it and spun tripped him. _Man, he sucks,_ I thought_, He must've learned his moves from a rusted out lemon._

"Hate to kick your ass and run, but..._sayonara_!," I shouted.

I ran away this time, preparing to give the famous "jump off the wall and attack him from behind" move. As I was getting ready to jump, the loud roar of a familiar gold and black motorcycle came bursting through at top speed. Kaia skidded to a halt as the Suzuki fishtailed into the area. She threw her black helmet with a gold stripe going down the center and ninja star designs on the sides down and gave me an acidic glance.

"Kai! Boy, you don't know how glad I am to see you!," I cried.

"Don't talk, just move!," she commanded.

"Kai, is something wrong with you, buddy?"

I gasped as her Suzuki transformed rapidly into a sleek and stealthy ninja-like figure. He was tall and lanky with black and gold markings. Unlike his fellow friends, he wore a bright sky blue visor that served as his visual sensors. Over in the distance, a screeching of metal against metal blasted through the air. I watched in terror as BumbleBee lay against what was once an old warehouse. He slowly made his way up, wobbling as he stood. He turned to me with a hurt look in his optics to see if I was okay, but I wished he hadn't. I was making an estimate that dents were similar to burises. He too was covered in scratches, some just from the paint, others leaking a purplish liquid, kind of like hydraulic fluid.

"Oh no," I choked.

"Look out, Vespa!," shouted Kai.

Turning on my heel, I could see the small silver bot coming for me at a rapid pace. I gave him the jumping crane kick (as seen in The Karate Kid), and turned back to them. Kaia's bike had an amazed look on his faceplate. "Impressive work," he murmured.

"You two take care of BumbleBee and Barricade," I said. Then I cocked my head a little in the direction of the smallest robot and said, "I'll take care of zippy over here."

Kaia nodded and pulled two kukri knives out of their sheaths that hid behind her deep coffee brown locks. I stared at her with my mouth agape. She looked at me and said, "What?"

"Nice," I answered.

Looking back at the knives, she replied, "Oh yeah. It was a birthday present from my dad when he went to Nepal. _Efcharisto'._"

Now, I don't know a lot about Greek and how to speak it, but I do know from Kaia's knowledge that what she said meant 'Thank you'. I smiled and then said, "You're gonna hafta teach me how to use those someday. Hey, you know that thing you just told me back there: 'Don't talk, just move'?"

She nodded.

"Well, how about we put that phrase into action?," I finished.

"Not a bad idea," she answered twirling the kukri knives like 9mm automatics.

"Awesome!," I yelled, "let's roll!"

Kaia and the ninja-bot ran in the direction of the other two, while my eye remained on Barricade's counterpart. I stood poised for attack. He seemed to be getting pretty antsy with me, since he knew I was better at martial arts. We both had at each other. It was like a two oppenent kicking, punching, and screaming contest. His vocal processor seemed to be speaking, but in a rapid language that I could only make out fragments of what he was saying.

"You really think you're hot stuff, doncha?," I muttered under my breath.

Just as I was getting ready to give him one last punch, Barricade swooped down and fell just like a tree after being cut down. I watched in horror as he nearly came below me. The tiny voice in my head seemed to be shrieking_, "What the s**t are you doing, you idiot?! GET OUT OF THE WAY __**NOOOOOOWWWWW**__!!!"_ With that in mind, I ran towards the nearest shelter (the remains of the warehouse where BumbleBee had landed before) and dove down to avoid the crashing blow of Barricade's 10 ton ass on top of me. The blow of body-slamming into a pile of scrap metal was probably just as bad as being the filling between a Barricade and hard ground sandwich. I gasped in amazement, for I had hit hard enough to knock the wind straight out of me.

"VESPA!!!"

Kai's cry of dispair rang through my ears. Gritting my teeth, I cried out through troubled breaths, "I'M ALRIGHT, KAI! I'M ALRIGHT!"

I turned my head. Her image appeared blurred in my vision. The ninja-bot came in my direction tagging behind Kai. BumbleBee limped over to the right of Kai. _No,_ I thought_, don't come any closer. I don't care if you're my guardian figure or not. Please Kai, lead them away, for God sakes, lead them away, Kai!_

Suddenly, Kaia cried out. My eyes widened as that insane little menance drag Kai down to the ground. I shouted something inaudiable before feeling the ground quake below me. Barricade rose up to the sky and stared me down. His gleaming red optics seemed to stab into my mind like blood-stained knives.

"Aw, Castrol GTX," I muttered in angry exasperation under my breath (yes, at times, I have been known to use engine care brand names, car parts, and automotive tools as alternative swear words; I mean, I _am_ a mechanic).

"Don't even _try_ to escape," he growled, "It's pointless. I'll still get you in the end."

Death was only a moment away for me. Trembling, I closed my eyes and waited for him to pierce me with one of his blades or blast me with a plasma cannon. Why witness it if it's the last thing you'll ever face?

"HANG ON!"

The loud call of Bulkhead's bellowing voice knocked a little bit of sense back into me. I leaned to the right and watched in amazement as his right hand became a large wrecking ball.

"Oh, real nice!," I said.

The wrecking ball collided perfectly with Barricade's metal skull, leaving a big dent as he fell back to the ground in the opposite direction. His voice let out a roar that almost sounded as though it were in slow motion. I stood up and looked up at Bulkhead.

"Thanks, big guy," I said in a breath.

"It was nothing," he replied.

Kaia screamed out as the silver bot clawed at her face. I immediately ran over there and tore him off of her. She sighed in relief.

"Don't mind me," I said, "I'm just grabbin' a souvie."

I ripped the bot's right arm directly out of its socket. It screamed and writhed in pain, letting out mechanical groans and squeals. Forgetting about his arm, he quickly ran in the direction of Barricade and fell back into place as Barricade transformed back into his police car form and sped away into the distance.

I stood there panting, the arm of the counterpart bot still residing in my hands and dripping with a sticky blue fluid. Kaia cursed in Greek as Prowl lifted her up onto the ground. I turned to all of them. Bulkhead was rubbing his wrist from where he had wrecking-balled Barricade out of my way. Rachet held up Optimus, who was leaning on him for support after being pushed over into an old brick building. My eyes filled with tears again as I saw Prowl pick up BumbleBee and cradle his limp body in his arms. Kaia rushed over to help him, but he kept her at bay saying that she needed to be more concerned for me instead. This was truly a hard day's work. I needed to go home and rest. In all my exhaustion, I heaved out a long breath and collapsed onto my knees.

"Vespa."

I raised my head slightly. Kaia knelt over me, her arm across my shoulders. "You are definately the most insane person I've regarded to as my friend," she continued, "...and yet, I owe my life's gratitude for it."

Smiling, I raised my body up beside hers, but cried out in anguish as a sharp blinding pain hit my left side. I immedialtely began to collapse back down. Kaia pulled me back up and cried out, "Vespa! Are you alright?!?"

I looked up at her with pain in my eyes. All I could really do was look at her and clutch at my stomach. My eyes began to see blood ooze from the crevices in my fingers. Slowly, I removed my hand from the wound. My hand, the inside of my welder's jacket, and part of my once crisp white turtleneck was drenched in the sticky warm red fluid. Kaia was the first one to break the silence.

"She's hurt!," she screamed, "Rachet, help her!!!"

"How can I?," he asked, "I don't know anything about the human mechanical makeup."

Kaia made a sobbing groan and reached down to see what had got me. A small glint of silver emerged from below the shirt. She immediately wrapped her fingers around it and began to pull at it.

Shrieking in pain, I yelled, "Kaia! What the f**k are you doing?! Do you want to kill me or something?!"

"Hang on, Vespa," she said, "I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

Optimus reached over and held me so that I didn't try to make any sudden moves. Kaia looked at him and nodded.

"Vespa," he said, "Calm down. She only wants to help."

I relaxed a little and lay there against the palm of his hand. Inhaling a long breath, I waited for the excruciating pangs to overwhelm me. Kaia gazed at me tearfully and wrapped her hand back around the object. I closed my eyes and stood poised for the agony.

Then, in a flash of blinding pain, Kaia ripped the shuriken from my side. The only sounds that could be heard were those of my screams and of blood splattering to the ground. Kaia threw the shuriken on the ground and began to walk over to Prowl. Prime gently placed me on the ground, his bright blue eyes filled with worry.

_No,_ I thought_, don't leave me._

"Vespa," he murmured sadly, "don't let us lose you. You have so much to offer us."

She returned with a duffle bag full of first aid materials. I winced in pain. Even though she had removed the weapon from my side, I was still hurting.

"Vespa," she said growing frantic, "Vespa, come on. Stay with me, buddy!"

I was starting to black out as Kaia stuffed the wound with as much cotton as she could grab into her fist. Her hands rapidly bound bandages around my waist. This was bad.

Suddenly, I jolted up. Kaia looked at me in shock. "Vespa?"

I turned to the right and coughed. Warm blood began to puddle next to where my mouth had once been laying. My head turned again to see all five of them hovering over me. All I could make out of the incoherent screams were, "Pull yourself together!...Vespa!...cardiac arrest!...don't die on us, cadet!"

This was it. my mind couldn't fight this anymore. I was going out like a light. My eyes were slowly closing. Kaia stood over me, crying. Before I got ready to pass out, I could hear her frantically sobbing: "Hang in there, buddy...hang in there...."


	3. Welcome to Detroit

Hey there :) Lieutenant Nightwing reporting!

This is just to let all of my loyal readers know that I have updated this chapter just a bit. Hopefully, it will not deter anyone's enjoyment from the fic :)

**Disclaimer**: Just a reminder, Transformers, under any circumstance, _**does not**_, nor will it ever belong to me (unless a freak accident were to occur *evil laugh*) The only characters that belong to me are as follows: Vespa Satchel, Kaia Rosecroft, Rufus Cumberland, and Skylar Maywind.

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_Chapter 3: Welcome to Detroit_

"Unnnhhhh...what happened?"

Moaning slightly, I had barely opened my eyes and said those words when I saw the robot Kai had referred to as "Prowl" hovering over me. It was taking a while for my mind to piece together the events that had happened in order for me to remember where I had met him, how how he had been made known to me, and who he was. Then, it hit me.

"You're Kai's bike, aren't you?"

"Just rest," he replied, "You still haven't recuperated from your little incident."

"Oh, let me guess: my tussle with that maniacal little insect from Hell? Let me tell you something, buddy. I've faced bigger and badder things than that."

I tried lifting myself up, but my body was obviously too weak. Prowl immediately took his hand and in reluctance raised my body into an upright position.

"You're definately a stubborn one," he murmured. I would've made a even smarter remark, but I was too out of whack to complete the task, so instead, he would just have to settle with a disentigrating death stare. Then, he quickly added, "How are you feeling?"

"Like some dumbass hit me head on with a MACK truck," I answered rubbing my head, "How long have I been here?"

"You've been in stasis lock for about three days," replied a husky voice.

I looked up to see the ambulance patterned robot coming towards me. Rubbing my eyes, I replied, "Oh, you mean like a coma?"

"If that's what you humans call it," he answered. In his hands, he held a welding torch and some kind of vial that held a pinkish gel-like liquid. To a human like me, that spelled "Hypodermic syringe and a bottle of horrid tasting medicine". I wondered what it meant to them.

"Hopefully, that's not for me?," I asked.

"No," replied the medi-bot, "one sip of this could easily kill you."

He held up the pink gel and showed it to me. I nodded and fell back on the bed as he walked away, my head landing perfectly on the pillow. It was horrible. I felt like every ounce of energy that I had worked up was being drained from me. My eyelids slowly began to sink back down. I was losing it...totally losing it.

"Vespa? Are you awake?"

Kai's voice seemed to bring back a little spirit in me as I rapidly forced my eyes open. She stood next to me in the same black knee-length trench coat, white T-Shirt with the word "_Kalos_" (meaning "Beautiful" in Greek) that her mom got for her back in Delphi, and military green cargo pants that she wore when we were in the fight. Climbing up the bed, Kai sat next to me with a small brown paper bag in her hands. Her faced was adorned with worry and concern.

"Hey, Kai," I said hoarsely with a weak smile.

"Good, you're responding," she said relieved.

I nodded again and held out my hand to Prowl. He lifted me up again. Shaking my head, I said, "So, what's the damage? Gimme both cases, 'kay, Kai?"

"Which do you want to hear first? Your's or BumbleBee's?"

I gave it some thought and answered, "Tell me how BumbleBee's holdin' up first."

Kaia sighed, and said, "Well...he's probably had worse, but it's pretty gory. He suffered a blow to the head knocking his CPU out of order, not to mention his legs were badly damaged, his paint job is all scratched up, and he's got more dents in him than the moon. I don't think he has very long in the condition he's in."

I swallowed hard and blinked back tears. "What about me?"

"You only suffered a deep _shuriken _cut to the abdomen," she answered, "but Rachet and I stitched you back together."

Soon, the one she called Rachet came back to my bedside. "How's her condition in human terms?," he asked as he knelt down beside Kaia.

"So far, she says she's healed up fine," replied Kaia, "I think a few more hours with the stitches should do the trick in my opinion. I just came to change her bandages."

She made a gesture for me to lie down, which I immediately obeyed. Then, with gentle hands, she lifted a small bit of my blood-stained turtleneck to reveal rows of gauze going across my abdomen. Rachet carefully watched the whole procedure unfurl.

"Sit up for a minute, please," she said.

I followed her instructions and watched as she unraveled the gauze showing me a long jagged cut going below where my diaphram was located and across the area where my pancreas was stationed. Long black threads ran criss-crossed above the wound in order to hold it together. So far, the wound had healed up over the period of time that I was asleep. There were specks of dirt and debris, and the stench of dried blood caused me to gag a little. Kaia then gently pushed at my left shoulder to bring me back in a lying down position.

"You really don't know how lucky you are, Vespa," she said as she opened the paper bag to reveal antiseptic wash, a clean dishcloth, fresh gauze, and a bottle of liquid collagen supplement (for later), "Frenzy's usually not the type to leave a victim in such benign condition."

"Yeah? Well, don't tell him that," I said, "He may come back for the rest of me."

"Now, hold still. This may sting a bit."

Kaia placed the dishcloth now soaked in antiseptic upon the wound. Sting a bit? Unh-uh, that thing stung A LOT! I might as well have been told to drench myself in honey and run through a beehive. I immediately jumped back and yelled out.

"VESPA!," shouted Kaia.

I wanted to shout something at her, but one harsh look stopped me cold. I lay back down and allowed her to finish without anymore interruptions. After applying the fresh gauze to me, I asked, "Can I see how he's doing?"

She nodded and helped me off of the bed. A tube filled with red liquid dragged behind me. I turned towards it. The tube was attached to a bag that had been filled with more red liquid. On a small label it read "TYPE: A Rh: POSITIVE".

"Careful!," cried Rachet, "you'll cut off your mechfluid supply."

"You-You mean-?"

"We had to give you a blood tranfusion in order to save you," said Kai as she grabbed the revolving hanger and began to remove the tube from my left arm, "the medbay in my dad's office gave it to me."

Using the hanger as a crutch, I made my way slowly to the yellow bot's bedside. I looked up at Rachet with sad eyes. He sighed and said, "It's not pretty, I'll tell you that much."

Nodding slowly, I walked into the area. My eyes widened and my throat felt dry. I swallowed hard. He lay there without moving. I almost mistook him for dead. Rachet was right, it was _definately _not pretty. His body was so badly dented and scratched, he looked like he had been mauled by a cougar. A large gash, now welded but still stained with hydraulic fluid and the pink goo, ran down his right leg. The windows on his chest panel had cracks in them, and another gash ran down his left arm, this time not welded together and sending sparks everywhere. I swallowed hard again in order to hold back tears, and let out a trembling sigh.

"Here," said Rachet gently.

He held his hand out to me. I climbed on and he raised me into the air. He then set me down on BumbleBee's chest. I just knelt there, tears slowly forming in my eyes.

"All you did for me back there," I murmured hoarsly, "was just the beginning. Please don't tell me...it's coming down to the end...not now..."

Rachet must've noticed my voice choked with bitter sadness and misery, even if I was trying my hardest to act tough and think it didn't affect me. He gently placed his hand on my back and murmured kindly, "Go ahead, let it all out. You're among friends here. We'll understand."

One loud wail was all it took to break the barrier of my lower eyelids and let the tears flow down. I threw myself down on his chest and squalled, my head resting on the red insignia that was painted on every one of the Autobots as they called themselves. This was just too much for me to bear. I couldn't stand seeing him in such condition.

"She really does care about him," murmured Optimus.

"Trust me," replied Kai in a hushed mumble, "If you give Vespa something to take care of, there's no doubt she'll do it." Then, with added confidence in my skills, she added, "She's a good kid, Optimus. I promise you that from the bottom of my heart."

Suddenly, as if by magic, the emblem began to glow bright red. I raised my head and watched stunned as all of his wounds healed themselves upon contact, each glowing a bright blue color. The scratches and dents repaired themselves and his window panels became smoother. What was once a long line of welded metal running down his right leg now returned back into its straight yellow self. The sparks that flew from the wound in his arm decreased. All of his wires and circuitry repaired themselves on contact. He then groaned slightly and opened his optics. I immediately jumped down as he raised himself up.

"What happened?," he asked groggily.

He looked down at me with strange curiosity, kind of like that moment you get when you meet up with someone you know you've met before, but you just can't remember where. I gave him my sweetest smile and said, "Hi! Remember me?"

"Oh yeah!," he said after a long pause, "You're that human that was in the fight a few days ago! Nice moves, by the way. You're name's...Wespa, am I right?"

I chuckled and replied, "Actually, my name's _Vespa_, with a "v". Vespa Erin Satchel to be exact. So...according to your buddies over here, your name's...BumbleBee?"

"Guilty as charged," he replied with a smile.

I smiled too, but I didn't tell him that my older brother, Erik, used to call me BumbleBee as a nickname. To make a long story short, he didn't like the idea of calling me 'Wasp' all the time, and decided that BumbleBee was a cuter alternative, so it stuck.

"And Optimus said that you're my guardian, am I correct?," I asked.

"Well, if boss bot says so, then consider yourself under my care!," he replied.

"Cool!," I squeaked.

"Vespa," said Prowl, "Those...moves that you used during the fight...that was...impressive. I never knew a human had so much skill."

"If you think that's awesome, watch this," I exclaimed.

I ran across to the end of the bed and jumped while executing a perfect aerial roll and landing right on the ground without a single flaw. BumbleBee got up from the bed as though he had woken up from a recharge. _So I __**did**_ _heal him,_ I thought as I looked down at my hands_, weird._

I looked up at everyone. They all seemed pleased, even to the point of speaking their amazements, but Rachet had a look of concern and disgust in his bright blue optics. I looked at him worried. He flinched a little.

"Is something wrong?," I asked.

"Uh, no. I-I just...I-I-I just forgot that I...I...I...needed to...go and fix uh,...a thing, yeah. So, I'll uh,...j-just be going," he stuttered.

He immediately walked away. _Poor guy, _I thought_, he looks like he had seen a ghost. Something must really be buggin' him._

"Don't worry about Rachet," said BumbleBee as he swatted his hand at the air playfully, "He's just a little shaken up from the battle still. You know how those war vets can be. But enough about him, let's hear a little bit about you. I wanna make sure I can keep you happy in any way, shape, or form that I can."

"Well, to tell you the truth," I said, "I'm just a simple girl who's heart is set on being a great mechanic and loves sports cars, blue raspberry slushie drinks, music that makes me wanna dance til I drop, video games, and anything that has to do with acceleration, as in speed. That's right, buddy. No slo-mo for me! I'm a get-up and go get in the fast lane girl. In fact, I more of a less talk, more action kinda person. I go by _my_ own rules and do what _I_ think is best."

"And that's her only flaw," Kai whispered to Optimus. He smiled gently and said turning his gaze towards BumbleBee and me, "I understand your predicament, Kaia. It's always the younger members of the team that want to play by their own ideas."

I threw a couple of punches at the air to give BumbleBee an idea of my mad skillz. He smiled as I gave a spinning crescent kick, but I slipped and would've nearly fell to the floor if he hadn't caught me in his hand.

"Thanks," I said.

"Don't mention it," he replied.

I gave a small laugh and pushed back on my heels to bring myself back in an upright position. Shaking my head, I turned back to him and said, "So, what's there to know about you? Any likes, dislikes...stuff I should know about in the care and keeping of you?"

"Well, I don't know what blue "jazz"berry slushies are, and I'm not sure how to install video games, but you and I definately have the same love of livin' in the fast lane," he said, "To tell you the truth, I'm the fastest thing on wheels!"

"If you say so," replied Prowl. Judging from the tone he had taken, BumbleBee smirked at what seemed to be a caustic insult hidden beneath that cool, calm, and collected exterior Prowl took.

"You think you're hot stuff, ninja-bot?," he asked, "Well, here's a deal nobody could pass up: you and me and game of speed, best two out of three. Winner gets double their energon ration for a week."

"I like you, BumbleBee," I said laughing, "You definately know how to supply the fun!"

"Oh, speaking of 'supply'," said Kaia as she shook the bottle of liquid collagen supplement, "you need your daily dose."

I grimaced. Ever sinced her dad had been taking care of me, I had to take this gross liquid collagen formula that was supposed to help strengthen nail and hair growth, tone the skin, and give me an extra burst of energy. All it really did was leave a bad aftertaste to me.

"Ew! Do I seriously hafta take that nasty cherry flavored motor oil?," I asked. The "cherry flavored motor oil" statement was my nickname for the stuff.

"Yes, you have to," she replied almost annoyed at my reluctance.

She handed me a small vial filled almost to the one third mark. Looking at my robotic pals and back at the brownish liquid, I immediately gulped it down and twisted my face. It was horrible, like drinking naturally fruit flavored fossil fuel. I thought I was going to be sick.

"Yuck!," I exclaimed, "Thanks Kai! I really can't think of any better way to start my first day awake than to de-sludge my internal workings while being supplied with endless amounts of energy. You sure know how to keep humans running like well-tuned machines."

She smiled at my playful sarcasm. Kai was used to it and didn't seem to mind. Of course, she's had to deal with it ever since we met in preschool when she saved me after a big bully kicked some sand in my face and I tried to act all tough. I gave her my best tough guy smile before it was crushed by the Autobots' amused laughter. I let out a sigh. _Even __**they**__think it's just for show,_ I thought sadly.

"You're right, Bulkhead," said BumbleBee, "she _is_ cute."

"Told ya, BumbleBee," he replied, "of course, she's so small and tiny, that's the only level she can reach!"

"Who you callin' tiny and small?," I yelled, "It better not be me. I'm big enough to reach the _adorable_ level if I wanted to."

I rushed over and gave ol' Bulkhead the hand over the head deal, but wasn't able to prevail. All I could reach were his massive ankles. "No fair," I pouted. He chuckled softly.

"Don't feel bad, Vespa," he said, "My best friend's a little short."

I perked up slightly and said, "Really? Who?"

He looked over at BumbleBee, who was talking to Kaia. "Oh," I said.

"Don't tell him I told you," he whispered in my ear, "he's a little sensitive about it."

"My lips are sealed," I answered.

"Vespa," said Optimus, "on behalf of all of us, we thank you for your courage and valor. I see great things in you."

Saluting, I replied, "Thank you, Optimus. I hope you continue to do so. I won't let you or your team down. Trust me."

"So, you need for me to get you anything before I take you home?," asked BumbleBee sweetly, almost like a boyfriend on a first date.

"Not really," I answered coyly.

"Come _on_!," said Kaia, "You've been asleep for _three days_, Vespa! Surely, you would want to go to the auto supply store and pick up some needed tools or hit the market to get more groceries or even to grab a bite to eat."

"You just had to mention 'food'," I muttered miserably as my stomach let out a low growl. She was absolutely right. Here I am, trying not to come all needy and such, yet I'm starving. Even _I_ wasn't stupid enough to know that liquid collagen supplement wouldn't be able to ease my hunger pangs. BumbleBee must've heard, because he was giving me a strange look.

"Uh...heheh...Human fuel indication system," I said sheepishly.

"Must mean you're running on empty," he answered as he gave my belly a gentle prod.

I blushed and rubbed the back of my head with embarrassment. He was right about that, even if it wans't in the exact terms that I would have put it in. But then I said, "What about-?"

"Don't worry about Rachet," replied Optimus gently, "he'll be alright. In the meantime, you and BumbleBee return to your main headquarters."

He then turned to the youngest member and said, "All you need to do is give the signal and we'll meet back in order to find a place to stay."

He nodded. Then, transforming back into his yellow Chevrolet Beat form, he said, "Hop in, Vespa! Just give me the directions to find your house, and I should be able to follow them."

"Great!," I exclaimed, but my mind was given second thoughts about that as my stomach began to growl again.

"On second thought," I said, "can we stop by a drive-thru on the way over?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Rachet had seated himself down to a mug of energon in the break room of the ARK. He just didn't understand what it was about the young Vespa that made him cringe all of the sudden.

_I know that deep in her spark chamber, she's a good youngling; even Optimus seems to trust her,_ he thought as he took a sip of the energon, hoping it would calm his nerves_, but there's definately more than meets the optic with her. I just don't know..._

"I thought I'd find you here."

The war vet turned to see his leader standing in the doorway. Sighing, he replied, "Come in, Optimus."

"Rachet, what happened back there? That wasn't like you to just leave like that."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If this is about Vespa, I am rested assured that she will mean no harm," said Optimus. Then, with a faint stern tone, he added, "Accoring to Kaia and Prowl, they have both witnessed good in her heart, as humans would call their spark chamber. I am firm in my beliefs and theirs as well. Now tell me what the problem is."

Rachet sighed again. Then, after taking another sip of his energon, he stated, "There's a certain energy about her...it's not like the kind most humans possess. Hers is like...ours, almost. Yet she's a human. You saw what happened to BumbleBee; I didn't expect him to recuperate, but she just healed him, like magic. It just...spooked me a little, that's all."

"And that's why we're here," replied Prime, "to protect her from the dangers that surround her. You must remember, Rachet, that her energy is what attracted not only us, but the Decepticons as well. Don't even think about what they'd do to her; it's too gruesome to imagine."

"I know what they'd do to such a gentle youngster such as herself," said Rachet with a shudder, remembering back to the days when an old war comrade of his was under Decepticon capture, "Does she know about it?"

"She'll learn soon enough," said Optimus.

* * *

Driving through a pick-up line at a burger joint and home was not that much of a problem as I thought it would be. Hell, to tell you the truth, BumbleBee's an excellent driver. In fact, I couldn't help but ask him where he learned to turn a steering apparatus this good.

"Oh, you know. Got it and a lot of other Earth info off the World Wide Web," he answered, "except for the alt mode. I got _that _one over on Queens Avenue and 3rd."

I sighed and said, "Ah, the good ol' Internet. Where would mankind be without it?"

"Probably stuck in a cave," he answered wisecracking.

I laughed. He was right about that. Thanks to man and their fascination with technology, we have advanced to a more industrial style of living. In fact, we live amongst technology, computers and robots to be exact. Through our peaceful coexistence with machines, we've developed a special friendship with our mechanical counterparts.

"This is the turn," I said to BumbleBee.

He picked up speed and curved sharply into the turn lane. My stomach began to turn somersaults and I was immeadialtely losing my appetite. _Shoulda told him I've got a history of carsickness,_ I thought in regret.

"Whoa! Easy there, lighting bolt! Okay, and it'll be the second place on the right, next to the empty lot," I continued trying to keep myself from being sick.

"You got it!," he replied.

BumbleBee skidded to a halt as we entered the blank area that most of the cars liked to park to get their tanks refueled beside the workshop. I then parked him right next to the Ninja 650R, which leaned against the brick wall. Shaking my head, I said as I hopped out of the car, "You do know this isn't the Indy 500, right?"

"What? I thought you said you liked speed."

"Yeah, I do. As long as I'm on a desolate track with just my friends watching on the sidelines and with some Dramamine flowing in my system. Come on, Bee, you're gonna get me in trouble one of these days...you don't mind if I call ya 'Bee', do ya?"

"Not a problem," he replied.

He transformed back into his robot mode. I mainly stayed on the lookout for any goons that had camped out while I was away. I reached into my coat and pulled out a Taurus P22 automatic. BumbleBee looked at me surprised and asked, "Why didn't you use that before?"

"Cuz I had a feeling that it would take more than a couple of bullet wounds to bring big bad Barricade down," I answered, stroking it gently, "To him, it would be more like a mosquito bite than a deadly blow."

*_ruff!*_

Out of the corner of my eye, Wheeljack came lumbering up from his spot at the garage doors. Kneeling down on one knee, I embraced his usual canine greeting of licking my face and nuzzling his soft gray and white muzzle against my neck.

"Hey, Wheeljack!," I said laughing as his rough pink tongue brushed over my cheeks. BumbleBee watched in keen interest at this form of Earthling behavior, both human and animal.

"So, do all humans look a little like that?," he asked.

"Wha-? Oh, you mean Wheeljack? No, Wheeljack's a dog, Siberian Husky, actually. Dogs are way different from human beings," I replied.

As I said this, my dog began to sniff at the bag. Smiling, I thought affectionately_, He knows momma bought him a treat._

"Yeah, I know what you want," I said reaching into the bag, "I gots it right here."

I pulled out of the bag a double hamburger and tore the wrapping off of it. In a tail-wagging frenzy, Wheeljack immediately pounced on it. I laughed and cheered as he paraded around the lot with his prize hanging from his mouth. He then proceded back to the garage with his feast ready to be devoured.

I turned to BumbleBee and said, "You wanna see one of my favorite spots to hang out?"

* * *

"Wow! This is quite a view!"

BumbleBee and I sat on the roof of the old automoblie plant gazing over the city. He was right, the view was definately something to behold. Usually, I came up here to paint or just sit up here, meditate and watch the world fly by me. I found it very peaceful.

"Yeah, it sure is beautiful," I said taking a bite of my double cheeseburger.

"So, what's it like living here?," asked Bee.

"Eh, it's no game of hopscotch on the sidewalk," I said, "but it gives me a roof over my head. As much as I hate to admit it, I woke up on the wrong side of town. This is where the biggest badasses park their rides. That's why I own the pistol and the big dog, for protection."

"Well, now you got the big bot to do some protecting for you, too," he said pointing to himself with his thumb.

I smiled and took a long swig of my drink. Even though it had only been about two hours, BumbleBee and I were beginning to respect each other. He was starting to be like that big brother who wanted to make me happy as best as possible. Of course, he have to be my step-big brother, for I already had a big brother.

"Is all of Earth like this?," asked BumbleBee.

"Not all of it," I answered, "There's towns, villages, countryside...all sorts of things."

"Well, what is this supposed to be?"

"You're in a city."

He looked around him in amazement. All over the place were skyscrapers and office buildings that seemed to strech forever towards the heavens, freeway systems that curved and looped every whichway and that, and _tons _of people, robots and cars.

"Whoa!," he murmured.

"Yep," I said, "Welcome to Detroit. Population: 'bout 916, 952."

BumbleBee just sat there agape. _Iacon is nothing like __**this**_, he thought.

"You like?"

"Yeah," he said exhilerated, "I've never seen anything like this! This is awesome!"

I laughed and said, "You'll like it here. I can tell."

He smiled and then said, "You don't mind if I bring the guys over, do ya?"

"Sure," I replied, "but we'll hafta hide them in the warehouse. Can't have bystanders thinking I own a SWAT car, ambulance, and Peterbilt as well a compact car."

* * *

I had no trouble convincing the boys that they couldn't exactly be spotted out in the open around my place; Bulkhead was a little bit uncertain, but I coaxed him into it.

"Just remember," I said, "Keep quiet. No honking horns or backing into anything or revving engines. I don't want anyone getting suspicious."

"Are you sure about this, Vespa?," asked Bulkhead.

"Don't worry, big guy," I said gently, "When I come back from work, I'll let you guys come out. I promise."

He gave me an uncertain look, but did as he was told. He transformed into his vehicle mode and followed the others into the warehouse. I turned to Kaia, who was whispering something in Greek to Prowl. He must've understood, because he nodded his head and then followed behind his team. After he was in, I closed the doors and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Oh, by the way," said Kaia, "Rufus is coming over to see your new car. Make sure BumbleBee is as presentable as possible."

"Aw man!," I exclaimed, "So soon? I just now got back into my routine!"

"He's been really concerned about you and your absence, Vespa."

"Well, what did you tell him while I was away?"

"Quarentined with a severe case of the chicken pox," she replied.

* * *

"Well that works," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, not bothering to remind her that I hadn't had the chicken pox since I was four. I then turned to BumbleBee and said, "C'mon, Bee. Let's get you presentable."

"When exactly did Rufus say he'd be here?," I asked as I rubbed BumbleBee down with a supersoft chamois and some high-gloss wax.

"He didn't say," replied Kaia, who sat on the retaining wall of my backyard (_if_ you could call it a backyard, really. It was mainly like a little fenced in area with a patio, a barbecue grill, and fairly grassy lawn in the back littered with a few dog toys). I groaned slightly.

"Well, he better hurry up," I said impatiently, "or at least give a reasonable excuse."

"Oh, as if "My car was abducted by mutant truck drivers, and I had a hard time trying to convince them to give it back" isn't reasonable enough?," said Kaia as she laughed. I snorted back my laughter, but smiled nonetheless. Suddenly, our thoughts were disturbed as loud music, presumably Radiohead or Metallica, came blaring up to the drive way.

"What's going on?," asked BumbleBee, a bit freaked out by the unexpectedness.

"I think that means he's here," I replied as I grabbed the chamois and the wax, and rushed over to the commotion. I then turned back to BumbleBee and said, "Stay here, okay?"

"He will, Ves, he will," said Kaia as we made our way over.

We both took to our heels and ran out to where I first parked BumbleBee that morning. _Yeah, that's Rufus alright,_ I thought as I saw the faded and rust spotted sea-green paint job of Rufus's 1976 Ford Van take hostage of my eyesight. Out of the van stepped a fairly overweight eighteen year old boy with dusty blonde hair and bright gray-green eyes. He had red cheeks and braces on his teeth. His outfit consisted of a white undershirt with the Radiohead mutant teddy bear insignia, a downright ugly olive green plaid shirt affectionately called the "Lucky Shirt", and a pair of olive drab cargo shorts.

"Sorry, I'm late," he called out, "Had a little trouble with my engine." He gave a light chuckle and said as he looked at me, "Hook a brother up sometime, little buddy?"

"Whatever you say, Rufus," I replied, "Whatever you say."

"Alright then," he exclaimed as he threw a few punches at me. I answered back with a couple of blocks and a kick.

"Think you're hot stuff, hunh?"

"Hotter than a supernova!"

"Come here, you!," he exclaimed with a laugh as he grabbed me by my neck in a half-nelson and gave me a noogie. I stepped back and brushed my hair down as best I could.

"Hey! Rufus!," calleded Kaia, "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"Well, if it ain't the Chic Greek herself!," he exclaimed as he come over and gave her a hug, "How you been, Kaia?"

"Well. And you?"

"Ah well...you know, the usual," he said, "but enough about me, let's get down to the real thing. Whadya get, Vespa? A Lambo? Citroen? Your dream Ferarri?"

I laughed and said, "Sadly, we were on a bit of a budget. I kinda had to downsize."

"Oh, you got a truck? That's cool," he replied, "Sometimes, second-best is how it goes, but it's still good, no matter what."

"Well, it's not exactly a truck as it is a-"

"Well, come _on_, Vespa!," he exclaimed, "Don't leave me hangin'. Whadidja get?"

Clearing my throat and making myself sound like a ringmaster, I announced, "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! It gives me great pleasure and utmost joy to bring to you the one, the only, the best car around! You know it, you love it, you wish you had it...THE VESPA MOBILE!"

I pulled him to the backyard and threw my arm out to show him BumbleBee in all his yellow and black glory. Rufus looked at me, the car, then back at me...

"You got a compact car?," said Rufus in disgust.

"Not just any compact car," I exclaimed, "It's a Chevrolet Beat, one of the greatest concept compact cars of all time. For all I know, this was one of the last models, and whoever owned it before me had a lot of time and money on his hands. Trust me on this, Rufus, you can't get any better than this: supersmooth anti-lock automatic brake system that stops on a dime and still leave some change; soft as silk microsuede interior, cadet uniform gray, if I may add; and just check out this engine!"

I immediately opened BumbleBee's hood to display this one of a kind work of art as I continued with, "That's right! I'm talkin' a turbocharged 1.6L Prince 14 block sitting right here! OW-WHEE! Bet your old van doesn't have anything like _this_ under the hood!"

"Okay, Vespa," said Rufus, "number one: I don't have any clue as to what the hell you're talking about. Number two: that doesn't matter to me. What matter's is that you, Vespa Satchel, my best friend and hands-down best mechanic a guy could ever know, have bought something not worthy of your mechanical skill. You could've had anything your mind dreamed of...but no...you had to go and this lame ol' piece-of-crap Chevrolet."

"WHAT?"

Without warning, BumbleBee transformed from his vehicle mode to robot mode and glared at Rufus dead in the eye.

"You wanna run that back by me again, hot-rod?," he yelled.

"Easy, Bee," I said trying to calm him down, "Rufus didn't mean it..._right_?"

"Uh...did I say piece of crap? I meant piece of _cake_, 'coz this is one suh-weet ride!"

"Don't even _try_ to flatter him," I muttered.

"Well, what do ya want me to do about it?"

I thought about it and then, with a sweet smile, said, "BumbleBee, my sweet little baby BumbleBee..."

He looked at me as though I had lost my mind (or central processing unit as he would call it) as I continued, "You do know that Rufus is so sorry, yet the dear thing is so shy that I must apologise for him. You see, he has this...odd...fear of giant robots."

"Well, he better get over it right away," BumbleBee retorted bitterly. I could tell that he was still upset, so I tried to say something else before being pulled back by Rufus.

"Alright, Vespa," Rufus muttered in my ear, "What kinda shit are you trying to pull?"

"I'm _not_ trying to pull any shit, Rufus!," I exclaimed, "BumbleBee truly is _my car_!"

"*_psh* BumbleBee_?," he said with a scoff, "What kind of lame girly name is that? Is that your doing, Vespa? I mean, sure, maybe Hornet or Wasp or even _Killer_ Bee, but _BumbleBee_? That's about the stupidest thing ever!"

"I can hear you down there!," yelled BumbleBee.

"Hey! What's going on out here, little buddy?"

Bulkhead had made his way outside and transformed. Rufus jumped slightly and grabbed at my shoulder. With a sigh, Bulkhead said, "Now, I know, Vespa. You said not to come out-"

"Nah, to be honest, big guy, I'm kinda glad ya did," I replied.

"Alright," he said with a scolding tone towards BumbleBee, "What have you done now?"

"It's not what _I've_ done!," BumbleBee retorted, "You should be asking _that guy_ what he's done!"

"What-him?," asked Bulkhead as he pointed towards Rufus, "He ain't harming anyone!"

"Yeah, well-!" BumbleBee crossed his arms and pouted, "He called me a piece-of-crap, whatever that means."

The two continued on fighting. I pinched at the inner corners of my eyes in frustration. Rufus looked at them almost in amazement.

"Hey, Vespa?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that big hulking one with the green paint job?"

"Who, Bulkhead? What about him?"

"D-Did he just call your car 'little buddy'?," asked Rufus.

"Yeah...why?"

"That's _my_ nickname for you."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. _Wow...he does! I never even noticed that_, I thought_, That's just too weird for words. _

"It's almost like watching larger metal versions of yourselves, eh, you two?," said Kaia.

Rufus and I turned to Kaia, who stood leaning on her motorcycle like some biker chick out of an action movie.

"Wait-Was that there?," exclaimed Rufus as he pointed to the bike, "That wasn't there, right?"

"Uhhh...no, I-"

"Prowl, _ti káneis _(what are you doing)?," she exclaimed as she turned to the bike.

"You too, Kaia?," he cried as he saw Prowl transform and step beside her. I took one look at her and winced slightly. I thought she was going to die of shock; the look on her face was similar to that of someone being shot from behind, and least expecting it: wide-eyed and terrified. She then bowed her head submissively and looked up at Prowl as he stood beside her. The two seemed to share a moment of fear, not so much for themselves, but for each other. Then, she took Prowl's leg in sort of a semi-embrace, and said, "Actually..._he's_ been my dirty little secret from the time I was fourteen. He was my birthday present under the disguise of a Suzuki racing motorcycle. Please forgive me for not telling you about this. I had to remain silent about his presence under his orders."

"_Lypámai _(I'm sorry)_,_ Kaia," said Prowl, "_Í̱tan pára polý sýntoma _(Was it too soon)?"

"_Óchi, _Prowl. _Mi̱n syngnó̱mi̱ _(No, Prowl. Don't be sorry)," she replied, "_Éprepe na máthei arketá sýntoma, kai ektós af̱toú, kállio argá pará poté_ (he had to learn soon enough, and besides, better late than never)."

Rufus stood there agape at the whole sight. He obviously didn't know what to say. I looked up at the bots and back at Rufus. I stood there worried that he would freak out and try to document this for one of those crackpot_ National Inquirer _articles, and wondering how the hell Prowl managed to learn Greek that well. Then, scratching my head, I decided to give my friend the full explanation.

"Uh...Rufus?," I said with uncertainty and careful placement of my words, "Um, allow me to introduce you to the Autobots. They are a group of robots from outer space and have been entrusted with guarding me for whatever reason that led them here."

Still with mouth agape, Rufus continued to look on at them, as though they were exhibitions that escaped from a travelling freakshow. I could already tell that he was trying to form the right words together.

"You don't have to gawk at them," I said.

"I-I know, but...thi-...this is amazing!"

He laughed and grabbed me by the arms. "Do you know what this means?," he asked me in excitement, "We are the _chosen ones_! The space gods have smiled and looked fovor upon us, so we have become the masters of the mechanical creatures from planet Arkturon!"

Bulkhead gave him a confused look and then laughed. "What in Spark's name are you talkin' about?," he said laughing, "We're not from planet Art-Huron, or whatever you call it; we're from Cybertron!"

Rufus looked at him in confusion. "Never heard of it," he deadpanned.

"Well, duh!," exclaimed BumbleBee, "You're not supposed to know because you've never seen it before. I mean, you're only human, am I right?"

Rufus shrugged and I turned my head slightly to show a hint of embarrassment. My hand brushed over my neck. BumbleBee took one look at my behavior and asked, "You okay, Vespa?"

"I'm fine, Bee," I replied, "I just didn't expect this to go so rocky."

BumbleBee gently raised my head to look at him. He was smiling at me, almost as though he were saying _Vespa, I understand_. Rufus looked at us and gave a faint smile. He then walked over as BumbleBee stood up straight again and asked, "So...this...Bumble-Bee, bot-thing...is like your...guardian?"

"Yeah," I replied, "I can talk to Optimus about arranging a guardian for you if you want."

I watched him give me a look of surprise, then turn his head away to think over what I had just said.

"are you sure about that, Vespa?," asked BumbleBee in a worried tone.

"Oh, come on!," I exclaimed playfully, "Let him have a little fun, too. It's not every day you get to have a giant alien robot enter your life."

Rufus was still in thought when I finished. Then, with a huge grin on his face, he turned to me and exclaimed:

"Vespa...that...would be...AWESOME!"

* * *

Yay! The updates came out perfect :) Hopefully the Greek translation looks a little better.

I want to say thanks to all of those who have reviewed this story. You guys rock! :D *huggles* ^-^

Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated. Seriously, don't be shy! Just don't ignore the big "Add a Review" button that's staring you right in the face. C'mon you know you wanna :)

P.S. Pretty please? *gives puppy-dog eyes*


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